Brooklyn Nets: Grading the Kevin Durant addition
By Akbar Best
The Brooklyn Nets landed the biggest free agent commitment in franchise history Sunday night when former NBA MVP Kevin Durant chose the Nets.
Sunday was a wild day, probably the biggest day for the Brooklyn Nets since the franchise came to the NBA in 1976, let alone since the move to the borough of Brooklyn in 2012.
It did not take long for one of the world’s best player, Kevin Durant, to confirm that he would be joining his good friend Kyrie Irving to play in Brooklyn for the Nets. Coming off a major injury, he’ll miss most if not all of the 2019-20 season.
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If he does come back it’ll be late in the season, if not around the time of the playoffs. The Brooklyn Nets and their medical staff will probably choose to be cautious and keep him out altogether. That is fine. We are here for the long game.
Kevin Durant will have this roster (or some form of it in any case) for three seasons after that. Plenty of time for him to return to form, mesh with the core and compete for a championship. When healthy, Durant is clearly one of the world’s best players, if not the best.
The combination of him and Kyrie with this core will be a sight to behold. That in itself makes this a great pickup by the Nets. And on top of that, Durant is supposed to be coming on a slight discount? Grade of an A+.
But Sean Marks did not stop there. Helping show Brooklyn’s appreciation for D’Angelo Russell, Marks allowed for the Brooklyn Nets to engage in a sign-and-trade with the Golden State Warriors.
Golden State and Brooklyn have agreed on a sign-and-trade, sending D’Angelo Russell to the Warriors on a four-year, $117M maximum contract, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2019
Marks and the Brooklyn Nets did not need to do this. There was no incentive to do a trade whatsoever. So why did they? D’Angelo Russell makes this offseason possible. Everything he’s done for Brooklyn this passing season should be celebrated.
He put on a career performance for a big portion of the season that propelled the Nets into the playoffs.
As a last gesture of good faith, Marks sends D’Angelo Russell not only to one of the locations of his choosing, but also giving him big money so that he may play on a championship caliber team (when healthy).
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He can continue his growth with a great organization and continue to show how much he’s matured since leaving the Los Angeles Lakers.
Grade: A++++